Rory

[tm4tj]

Thought he deserved a thread all of his own after yesterdays performance. He had his best game for ICT, on the big stage as well, and he tormented the Celtic defence all afternoon. When he learns to win balls in the air he may well prove to be a good SPL player yet. He showed a different side to his play yesterday and was prepared to take on the defenders, turning them inside out at times. A few people may well be eating humble pie this morning, I may even be due a small portion myself, but in my opinion, Rory had a great game. Richard, you need glasses, he must have been in the frame for MoM, as he and Bayne had a good afternoon, Barry was though, the deserved winner of that for me, just shading it. Still, young Rory can build on this and his future looks a lot rosier than it was the last time he played in the SPL.

Well done Rory :003:

[CaleyD]

:025: - I was also impressed with his willingness to have a pop at goal when the opportunity presented itself, and he was never far off.  With a little more match experience those shots will start hitting the target with more accuracy.  He is a very similar player to Bayne, but he has the added ability/confidence to run at the defence.  On a few occasions yesterday he picked the ball up wide or 30 yards out and his first thought was to take it and run at goal, something he was doing with great effect.

As I said somewhere else, he proved yesterday that he has the ability to perform at this level and it is up to him now to keep on doing it every chance he gets.  CC said that he intended to keep rotating the 5 strikers, so he has confidence in them all and McAllister was likely to get his chance, but with Dargo and Wyness sidelined then this is the biggest opportunity McAllister is going to get to make the position his.

Glad CC has stuck with the lad, and the nerves he showed a couple of times on previous appearances seems to have gone, yesterday he showed nothing but confidence and a belief in himself.  Long may it continue and I hope CC has him on a decent length contract because this young lad is a definite star in the making.

[kencar]

Marked improvement from what I'd seen of him before but I'm still not 100% convinced.

Still the ball is firmly is his court and he has a great chance to prove to everyone he has a future at the club.

Hopefully the team won't fall into the trap of just punting the ball up to him & Bayne

[davieB]

He DID have his best game yesterday, but considering what's gone before, that's hardly surprising. As I said elsewhere, he did improve the longer the game went on, and he did show some neat touches.....BUT, IMO he's got absolutely no pace, his first touch is shocking, and for a fairly big bloke he gets brushed off the ball far too easily.

He also seems to tire extremely quickly. He always looks dead on his feet after about 30 minutes.

He may well come good, but he's had plenty of chances. And while yesterday was an improvement I'm not convinced by him at all. I think we desperately need a new striker before the window closes.

[beachcomber]

I have to admit to a bit of trepidation when he appeared, but he took about 20 mins to find his feet then grew in confidence as the game progressed.  He certainly allayed any fears I had about him (which had mainly been raised by his critics on here, since I've hardly ever seen him play in anger).  :022: for Rory

[caley100]

I still have to be convinced, he is so one paced, no strength, and cant jump to save himself.

Now he may have youth on his side but he needs do have something 'special' if the above skills are not apparent.

Suprised the Daily Retard gave him man of the mach :017:

[RiG]

I thought he had a great 2nd half but for the first half he still showed his raw and inexperienced side. I think something must have been said at half time because he emerged full of confidence and his control in tight situations was amazing. I mind when he skinned two Celtic defenders in the corner area and whipped a ball in. There was one chance where he had a chance to shoot but he elected to pass to Wilson I think it was.

Overall I would say still some way to go but what I saw in the 2nd half was very encouraging indeed  :003:

[Yngwie]

I have said several times this season that Rory is just rubbish, and destined for the Highland League.

He had a great game yesterday and deserves all the praise he's getting.

But I'm afraid I still don't see him making the grade. As others have said, no pace, no strength, falls down when anyone goes near him, hopeless in the air, no stamina. Those weaknesses are nothing to worry about in a 17 year old, but a 20 year old?

Good luck to him though, I really hope he has turned the corner.

[Guest Bonzo]

So, the concensus seems to be that the lad did okay -

but we desperately need to sign a striker in the next couple of days!

I'd go along with that.

[Caley4eva]

Woooooo yeh well done Rory  :001: :001: :001: :003: You did good yesterday and did anybody notice when he took the ball right from underneath Lennons nose and feet, clas loved that bit dont think Lennon did though but who cares

[4ize]

He also seems to tire extremely quickly. He always looks dead on his feet after about 30 minutes.

Ffs, how often has the lad played 30 minutes, let alone a full SPL match? How exactly is he supposed to be match fit and, more to the point, match sharp when he's not playing matches?

Not singling you out Davie - the bit about 'can't jump to save his life' is bloody laughable too, when you consider that  Bayne couldn't buy a ball in the air until this season - but I must have been watching a different Rory to some folk on this thread. Give him a break...

I'm with the Dons on this one.

[Yngwie]

But the Dons released him!

[4ize]

<groan>  :004:

[Council Juice]

Give the lad time. He's hardly had time to touch the ball never mind establish himself.

But I'm afraid I still don't see him making the grade. As others have said, no pace, no strength, falls down when anyone goes near him, hopeless in the air, no stamina. Those weaknesses are nothing to worry about in a 17 year old, but a 20 year old?

And genrally speaking bigger lads up front blossom later than the wee sprite. Jna Koller for example never caught anyones attention till his mid twenties, as is Prso and its been more so in recent years that Jan VoH has become prolific. Barring one season at Blackburn Chris Sutton never showed his class till signing for Celtic.

19/20 year old is still young and he needs to build some upper body strength. But thats what the gyms for.

[Mee]

He was my MoM  :005: I thought he did brilliantly!

Brew nearly ruined him by putting him in the first team squad before he was ready, Im glad to see he's coming good now. We DO still need another striker though!

[Jaggy666]

I agree he had his best game for us on sunday but i will never no how on earth he became a footballer, the guy may be 21 and may need time bla bla bla but at the end of the day he aint good enough! he gets bullied out of challenges way too easily, cant run to save himself and doesnt have the skill.  surely gary mcswegan cant do any worse, give him a chance as im sure his experience would be an asset.

[dead_ball_specialist]

But I'm afraid I still don't see him making the grade. As others have said, no pace, no strength, falls down when anyone goes near him, hopeless in the air, no stamina. Those weaknesses are nothing to worry about in a 17 year old, but a 20 year old?

It didn't look like that yesterday. He held the ball under pressure as well as anyone since Brewster. And his passing success ratio must have been about 90%. Not to mention how well he struck up an understanding with our midfielders whose runs he kept picking out time and again.

Surely he can improve his strength and stamina with a few hard sessions in the gym every week?

[ictchris]

Rory hasn't had the best of times but yesterday he was absolutely immense, I thought he was our best player.  He was energetic, he played some superb passes, he linked reasonably well with Bayne considering they haven't played together much, he created chances and went past opponents and wasn't scared to have a shot.  Yesterday could be a turning point for the lad - I remember when Rosscoe first joined up he was a big awkward lump but given time he developed.  Maybe Rory could do the same - the guy has been selected for the Scotland U19s and has been a regular scorer in the reserves.  I, for one, hope he builds on his display and silences the boo-boys.

[TheresNoEsInBlack]

Surely he can improve his strength and stamina with a few hard sessions in the gym every week?

Exactly...  All the physical qualities that he is presently low on can be built up with the right training regime.  He needs to bulk up a bit and if he does that he'll be laughing and so will we.  He's only 20 FFS!!  He's not long stopped growing.  He has the skill and just needs the extra muscle as back up to "let the other player know he's there".

Well done Rory, get stuck in about them.

[Caley4eva]

He was my MoM  :005: I thought he did brilliantly!

Brew nearly ruined him by putting him in the first team squad before he was ready, Im glad to see he's coming good now. We DO still need another striker though!

I agree with Mee. Brew nearly did ruin him but thank god he never

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

But I'm afraid I still don't see him making the grade. As others have said, no pace, no strength, falls down when anyone goes near him, hopeless in the air, no stamina. Those weaknesses are nothing to worry about in a 17 year old, but a 20 year old?

It didn't look like that yesterday. He held the ball under pressure as well as anyone since Brewster. And his passing success ratio must have been about 90%. Not to mention how well he struck up an understanding with our midfielders whose runs he kept picking out time and again.

Surely he can improve his strength and stamina with a few hard sessions in the gym every week?

Feck me. Coco the Clown agrees with the corpse. Give him a run and lets see. I can see this being the chance to give Rory at least an hour and we have Pat O' Lining or McSwiggin to come on. The lad can only improve.

[Guest PaulieBee]

Thought he did really well.

Hopefully his confidence and overall game will only go from strength to strength now.

[Strathman]

Rory is still only 19. I think I am right in saying he has been top scorer for the reserves for the last three seasons. He got picked for his country at his age group last season. CC has only started him once in the first team. He scored when he started in Brewster's last game.

He may or may not take his chance this time. If he does great if he does not he needs to go on loan somewhere and play first team football. There is a big gulf between the reserves and the first team. 

[Guest caleyrooster]

I think some of you guys are a bit harsh. Rory does need more experience but he is willing to go and have a shot on goal where most of our strikers get a nose bleed when they get into the box. he does have a lot to prove but if he knows the fans are backing him he is more likely to do well. :016:

[kencar]

Looking forward to him having a storming game against United. Man I hope we hump then on Saturday  :004: